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Onshore wind is vital to help UK reach 2020 renewable energy target

28 May 2014

RenewableUK has said that if the UK is to meet its legally-binding target of generating 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020, more onshore wind may be needed to make up for a possible shortfall in other parts of the energy mix.

The warning follows comments by the Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, Lord Deben, in The Times, in which he stated: “I’m happy that we have already got enough onshore wind to 2020 to meet that part of the portfolio”.

RenewableUK points out that not all the onshore wind projects which have been approved will actually get built - about 10% will drop away for financial and other reasons between now and 2020. This means the UK could lose more than 450 megawatts of onshore wind capacity – enough to power nearly a quarter of a million British homes. So the pipeline of approvals will need to be extended to make up for this.

As well as generating renewable electricity from wind and other clean sources, the UK has committed to produce a significantly higher proportion of heat, and fuel for transport, from renewables.

According to the latest available Government figures, the UK is only a third of the way towards its target for transport fuel, and just a fifth of the way towards its target for renewable heat. To make up for a shortfall in these other areas, the Government could increase the amount of clean electricity to hit the overall target, as the UK is already over half way towards generating 30% of its electricity from renewables - more than half of which is being provided by wind.

RenewableUK is also calling on the CCC Chairman Lord Deben to support the case for wind energy in the 2020s. In The Times interview, he stated “It is likely that onshore wind will continue to play a part in our renewables after 2020, but it is not a decision we have to make now, and there are circumstances in which it might not. The public will decide what the balance is.”

The CCC’s 4th Carbon Budget, currently being considered by the Government, envisages 25 gigawatts of onshore wind by 2030, 12 gigawatts above what the Government says we should have installed by 2020. The CCC has also acknowledged that onshore wind is one of the cheapest technologies to achieve this.

RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Maf Smith said: "Onshore wind is the cheapest form of renewable power we have, so we’d expect the CCC to continue to champion it at every opportunity. Public support for onshore wind has reached a record high of 70% according to official Government figures, so the Committee on Climate Change will want to remain in step with the majority of the British public, who strongly support our transition from fossil fuels to clean sources”.

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Statistics on projects in planning, under construction and operation can be found here:

RenewableUK is the UK’s leading renewable energy trade association, specialising in onshore wind, offshore wind and wave & tidal energy. Formed in 1978, we have an established, large corporate membership ranging from small independent companies, to large international corporations and manufacturers. Acting as a central point of information and a united, representative voice for our membership, we conduct research; find solutions; organise events, facilitate business development, and promote wind and marine renewables to government, industry, the media and the public. Our vision is for renewable energy to play a leading role in powering the UK.